The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill

1. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill CMF Update

2. Legislative Timeline • Abortion Act 1967 • Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 • Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2008

3. Abortion Act 1967 • Provided immunity for prosecution under Offences against the Person Act 1861 for certain categories of abortion • Abortion on grounds of risk to mental or physical health of mother up to 28 weeks • Abortion up to term to save live of mother

4. The 1990 HFE Act • Human embryos can be frozen, experimented upon and destroyed • Donor gametes legalised • Door opened for preimplantation diagnosis, therapeutic cloning, saviour siblings • ‘Social abortions’ up to 24 weeks • Abortions for disability up to term

5. Results of 1967 and 1990 Acts • 6.8 million abortions • 2,200,000 embryos destroyed

6. HFE Bill 2008 – Several steps further • Threat to human dignity: animal-human hybrids • Threat to the family: commodifying children and creating them fatherless • Threat to human life itself: liberalising abortion law

7. The HFE Bill in the Lords – all amendments lost • A ban on the creation of animal-human hybrids - lost by 96 to 268 • A ban on the use of saviour siblings - lost by 62 to 180 • An amendment calling for the 'need for a father' for IVF children - lost by 93 to 164 • Restricting saviour siblings to life-threatening disease - lost by 121 to 162 • A ban on abortion between 24 and 40 weeks gestation – lost by 22 to 89 • The Hunt test – animal human hybrids only if no other way – lost by 42 to 197

8. The Lords – Why did we lose so badly? • This is a government bill and so has the full support of the government • The major scientific and medical institutions are backing the government (MRC, Welcome, Royal Society, BMA, Royal Colleges) • Eight of the nine doctors in the House of Lords back most of what is in the bill • Those pushing the bill are incredibly well organised

9. The HFE Bill – What happens now? • The Bill completed its passage through the House of Lords on 4 February • First reading in House of Commons 5 February • Second reading (debates stage) in House of Commons 12 May • Committee Stage with votes on ‘fathers’, saviour siblings, animal-human hybrids and abortion on 19-20 May • Time is very short!

10. The House of Commons – what hope? • The down side - Most MPs will not be well informed - The vote on the whole Bill will be whipped - The government has a huge majority and most are pro the bill and pro-abortion • The up side - Abortion, fathers, saviour siblings and hybrids will be conscience votes - MPs are worried about losing their seats - Public and media opinion counts!

11. Animal-human hybrids – What is driving this? • Scientific curiosity • The biotechnology industry • The prestige of the British government • Patient interest groups • The Media – especially The Times

12. Animal-Human hybrids – Why? • To produce cloned animal-human embryos for embryonic stem cell research • Cloning human embryos hasn’t worked and harvesting human eggs is difficult and dangerous

13. Stem cells to treat disease • Michael J Fox – Parkinson’s disease • Christopher Reeve – Paralysis • Ronald Reagan – Alzheimer’s disease

14. Harvesting stem cells from embryos www.arhp.org

15. Animal human hybrids – what is proposed? • ‘Cybrids’ – cytoplasmic hybrids produced by ‘therapeutic cloning’ using human nuclei placed in empty animal eggs (the only hybrids with any research potential) • True hybrids – human eggs fertilised with animal sperm and vice versa • Chimaeras – Embryos comprised of both human and animal cells

16. Animal human hybrids • Unethical – crossing species boundaries, violating kinds, allowing end to justify means • Unnecessary – unlikely to work, ethical alternatives rapidly becoming available

17. Human embryonic stem cells • Harvest involves destroying human embryos • Have been successfully cultured but no treatments so far • No stem cell lines have been recovered from cloned embryos • Grow unpredictably in culture and have tendency for tumour formation • Any treatments are 15-20 years off and therefore embryonic stem cells are only being used in research

18. Embryonic stem cells – alternatives • Embryonic like stem cells (called induced pluripotent stem cells or iPS) can now be produced by reprogramming ordinary adult cells (Yamanaka, Thomson, Nov 2007) • Adult stem cells already treat over 70 diseases • Umbilical cord stem cells are already used in treatments and are easily harvested • Embryonic stem cells are unethical and unnecessary

19. Lord Winston – ‘stem cell hype’ ‘I was concerned that parliamentarians have been convinced that it was just a matter of a few years before we would be able to transplant stem cells and cure a lot of neurological disorders’ Lord Winston, BA president (5 September 2005)

20. Saviour siblings • Production of embryos using IVF techniques to produce genetically matched children to donate tissue for transplant to affected siblings • Govt plans to extend use from ‘life-threatening’ to ‘serious’ diseases • Bill in its present form allows donation of stem cells, cord blood, bone marrow cells and even part organs • Harvesting tissue carries dangers for the donor

21. Saviour siblings – problems • Production of saviour siblings involves destruction of embryos that are not the right genetic match • There is a slippery slope from ‘life-threatening’ to ‘serious’ diseases operating • It has only ever worked in a very small number of patients and alternative treatments are available • Children should not be used as a means to an end • The use of cord blood and adult stem cells will in time make this technology redundant

22. Need for a father for IVF children – What is proposed? • No need to ‘have regard for child’s need for a father’ recognised for IVF children • Removes choice over having a father for some IVF children • Removes biological father from birth certificate

23. Fatherhood issues • Should parents’ rights eclipse children’s rights? • Research shows that children without fathers are at a disadvantage • Medical and genetic history will be lost • Issues of identity – who am I? • Creates a legal fiction whereby the biological father is removed from the child’s history

24. 40th Anniversary of Abortion Act – 27 October 2007

25. Abortion - Public opinion is changing • More than three-quarters of women support a reduction in the six-month upper age limit • Nearly two-thirds of the public want the six-month upper age limit reduced now • 65% of GPs support a reduction in the six-month upper age limit

26. Concerns about late Abortion • 100 late abortions beyond 24 weeks each year since 1991 • Recent case at 26 weeks for cleft palate • Joanna Jepson • Down’s Syndrome

27. 3D Ultrasounds • ‘Walking in the womb’ at twelve weeks • ‘Yawning’, smiling and thumb-sucking at 20 weeks • Accessible moving images on ‘you tube’

28. Fetal pain • The Abortion industry consensus denies pain perception below 26 weeks, but there are… • Hormones, reflexes and physiological changes at 18 weeks • Prof KJS Anand’s research suggesting sensation at 18 weeks

29. Neonatal survival • The EPICure Study – 1995 shows survival at 23 and 24 weeks of 11% and 26%. ?EPICure 2 better at 24 weeks • But in Centres of excellence (eg. Minneapolis) 66% and 80% of babies survive at 23 and 24 weeks • UCL study published January 2008 shows similar conclusions

30. Abortion survivors • Stories of babies born alive after abortion as early as 16 weeks • Survivors testimonies - Gianna Jessen

31. Health effects of abortion • Mental health – RCPsych Report 16 March says ‘women may be at risk’ and ‘no evidence of psychiatric grounds for abortion’ • Pre-term delivery – Increasingly robust data of a link between abortion and premature birth • Breast cancer – A biologically plausible link and some studies showing an association

32. Abortion - what we are up against • The coalition • Prochoice MPs • Abortion ‘providers’ – FPA, MS, BPAS • BMA, RCN, RCOG, BAPM • The liberalisers’ agenda • Retaining the 24 week limit • Abortion on request in 1st trimester • Nurse abortion • Home abortion • Excluding doctors who object from seeing women • Extension of Act to Northern Ireland (some)

33. The Media is waking up – last six weeks headlines • Babies ‘feel pain before 24-week abortion limit’ (Telegraph, 28 Jan) • Survival rate soars for the babies born early - fuelling the debate over abortion limits (Daily Mail , 1 Feb) • 66 babies in a year left to die after NHS abortions that go wrong (Evening Standard, 4 Feb) • Women commits suicide after aborting twins (Daily Mail, 22 Feb)

34. Abortion – What we can do? To support amendments to HFE Bill seeking • Lowering of 24 week upper limit • Lowering of birth upper limit for disabled babies • Fully informed consent for women To oppose amendments to HFE Bill seeking • Liberalisation of abortion law

35. What can we do? • Get informed • Sign abortion petition at www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org • Write to and/or visit your MP • Educate people in the churches • Pray

36. Key things to ask and pray for • Defeat of the bill at second reading • Passing of amendments to neutralise bill’s effects • Courage for MPs, esp govt MPs, to put their heads above parapet and vote against bill and for good amendmenst

37. Useful web addresses • Christian Medical Fellowship (www.cmf.org.uk) • Alive and Kicking (www.aliveandkickingcampaign.org) • All Party Prolife Group (www.hfebill.org) • Passion for Life (www.passionforlife.org.uk/)